Foldable chair



May 14, 1935.

c. E. JOHNSON FOLDABLE CHAIR ori inal Filed June'25, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet-1 M33714, 1935. Q E, JOHNSON 2,001,252

FOLDABLE CHAIR Original Filed June 25, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gwwntoz 6,Elmo cfofivzson Patented May 14, 1935 aoqrzsz FOLDABLEECHIAVIRI wClarence'Elmo.Johnson, Quincy, a r Refile of applicationSerialNo.-546,863, Julieta" 1931. This 3 Claims. .lCl. 155- 133) Thisapplication is a refile of my prior applicaxtion Serial Number546,863,flle'd June 25, 1931.

This invention relates to seats or chairs and" particularly to acollapsible and foldable chair designed to be used in vehicles, atcircuses, baseball parks, and on picnics and under like circumstances,the seat having a back portion and a seat proper but no legs. v

The general'object of the invention is to provide a very simplecollapsible and foldable chair of this character which is provided witha back and a seat, the back and seat being formed primarily of a seriesof slats held in co-active relation to each other by fabric and bystraps extending from the seat to the back in an upright posi- A furtherobject is to provide a structure of this character in which the seat isso formed that the two lateral slats may turn upward to conform to i thebody, theback being also formed so that the two lateral slats mayconform to the lateral curvature of the back.

Another object is to provide a chair of this character which is soconstructed that the slats may be readily removed or replaced in case ofbeing broken, split or otherwise rendered unfit for service.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure1 is a perspective view of a chair constructed in accordance withmyinvention.

Fig. 2 is a like view but with the chair folded up;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the chair and in an open condition;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section thru the chair at the junctionof the seat and back.

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3.

Referring to these drawings, it will be seen that the back of thechairconsists of a plurality of parallel slats l0, these slats being made ofwood, composition or any other suitable material. The

upper ends of these slats ID are inserted in pockets ll formed in afolded piece of textile fabric, designated I2, this fabric beingstitched at l3 to fonn these pockets H. The bottom of the chair is alsoformed of slats M of the same character as the slats II] which at theirouter ends are inserted in pockets I5 formed in a folded piece oftextile fabric designated generally l6 and longitudinally stitched at I!to form the pockets.

Operatively connecting the slats l0 and I4 and forming a joint betweenthese slats, is a strip of application January 19, 1935, Serial textilefabric which is so famed as to wane,

-' when the chair is in use. an upwardlyand rearwardly extending-seriesof pockets l8 and a forw'ardly extending series of pockets l9.Y'I'heseries of pockets l-8receive the" lower ends ofthe slats l0while'the pocketslS receive-the :rear ,ends of the slats H. The innerends of thepockets l9 are sufliciently spaced from the lower ends ofthepockets l8that the pockets l8 may be folded over.

flat upon the pockets l9 and thus the slats Ill 0 folded over upon theslats M. The pockets I8 and I9 are formed, as previously described, bymeans of stitching.

The lateral slats of the back and seat are both cut away at 20, as shownin Fig. 3, so as to per- 1 mit these lateral slats of the back and seatto swing into angular relation to the corresponding slats of the samerow and thus cause the slats to conform to the body.

For the purpose of holding the back in proper relation to the seat whenin use, I provide the lateral straps 21. These are preferably formed ofcanvas webbing. though leather or other material might beused. Eachstrap 2| is preferably riveted at its opposite ends to the lateral slatsand the lateral pockets l2 and I6 fit over and cover these riveted endsof the straps 2| so that they do not show.

The seat itself is formed slightly wider than the body of the person sothat these lateral slats It may turn upward and outward, as shown inFig. l, and the same is true of the lateral slats l0 and it will beobvious that when the chair is in use, the weight of a person upon theseat will hold the forward end of the seat down and the user may leanagainst the back of the chair and that this leaning action will causethe straps 2| to draw the lateral slats I0 and I4 into angular positionshown in Fig. 1. Because of the fact that the inner and outer ends ofthe slats l0 and M are disposed within pockets formed in flexible stripsor pieces of textile fabric, the seat and its I pact bundle, asillustrated in Fig. 2, which bundle is light in weight and can be easilycarried under the. arm. The textile material from which the pockets areformed may be'oi canvas, duck, or the like.

It will be understood that this chair is adapted for use on boats; invehicles, at beaches, and it is adaptable to a large number of differentcircumstances. v

I claim:

1. A chair of the character described' havin a back and a seat, the backbeing formed of parallel slats, the seat being formed of parallel slats,a member formed of flexiblematerial and disposed between the rear endsof the seatslats and the lower ends oi. the back slats, said memberbeing formedto provide pockets receiving the ends oi! said slats, thelateral slats of the seat and'back at their adioiningends beingangularly cut away inward from the lateral edges of the slats to'permitthese lateral slats to be turned into angular relation with theircompanion slats,

means flexibly connecting the upper-ends of the back =slats,- meansflexibly connecting the outer ends 01 the seat slats, and flexiblestraps connected to the upper ends or the lateral back slats v and theforward ends or the lateral seat slats.

2. A chair of the character described having a seat and a back, eachformed of a plurality of parallel slats, means flexibly connectingadjoining ends of the slats of the backto each other, and flexiblyconnecting adjoining ends of the slats of the seat to each other andflexibly connecting the slats of the seat to-the slats of the back;straps attached to the lateral slats of the seat and the lateral slatsof the back, and

members of flexible material formed with puck- -ets receivingrespectively the upper ends of the back slats and the forward ends ofthe seat slats and enclosing the attached ends of said straps.

3. A chair of the character described having a seat and a back, eachformed of a plurality of parallel slats, means flexibly connectingadjoin ing ends of the slats of the back to each other, and flexiblyconnecting adjoining ends of the slats of the seat toeach other andflexibly connecting the slats of the seat to .theslats of the back,straps attachedto the-lateral slats of the seat and; the lateral slatsof the back,' and membersof flexible material formed with pocketsreceiving respectively the upper ends of the back slatsand the forwardends of the seat slats.

CLARENCE ELMO OHNSON.

